2. Who built it, and are they named?
Insomnia advice is what Google calls a "Your Money or Your Life" topic — the strictest quality tier — and the same logic should apply to your own judgement. Look for a named clinician with verifiable credentials, not "our expert panel" or "our editorial team."
Check whether the person named actually built the program or was brought in to review it afterwards. Both are legitimate; they are not the same thing, and companies are often vague about which one applies.
For what it is worth on this site: Somnera was founded and written by Dr. Camilo Ruiz, DO, FACOI, FAASM, a board-certified sleep physician who practices at Sleep and Internal Medicine Specialists in Fort Lauderdale. He built it so the approach he uses with patients could reach people who cannot get to his office.
3. What are you actually buying?
The pricing page is where the real differences show up, and where the unpleasant surprises live.
Model | What to check |
|---|
Subscription | What happens when the program ends. Does the charge stop, or continue? |
One-time | Whether access expires, and whether there is a charge afterwards for anything you would still want. |
Prescription | Whether you need an appointment first, and whether insurance covers it. |
Employer or insurer | Whether you can get it free through work. Several programs are only distributed this way. |
The loudest complaint in this category, across app store reviews, is not that programs do not work. It is surprise renewal. Read the sentence about what happens after the program finishes before you read anything else. A fuller breakdown of what CBT-I costs.
4. Can you see what you are buying before you buy it?
A program confident in its content publishes the curriculum. Week one covers this, week two covers that. If a company will not tell you what is in it until after payment, ask yourself why.
The same goes for the assessment. A validated questionnaire that gives you a real score you could take to your own doctor is useful whether or not you buy anything. A "quiz" that produces no number and ends at a checkout page is a lead form.
Here is what six weeks of a CBT-I program actually contains, week by week.
5. What happens to your sleep data?
A sleep diary is a detailed record of your nights, your moods, and often your medications. Before you start filling one in, find the answer to three things: is it sold or shared for advertising, can you export it, and can you delete your account and have the data go with it?
These answers are in the privacy policy, and a company that makes them hard to find has told you something.
The honest summary
There is no single best CBT-I app, and anyone claiming their own product is one should lose your trust rather than earn it. There are programs that deliver the actual components, are built by people who put their names to them, are clear about what you are paying for, and treat your data properly. Most of the market fails at least one of those.
Work down the five questions and the shortlist gets very short very quickly.
And if the honest answer is that you would rather not do it alone, here is what a therapist gives you that an app does not. The CBT-I section covers cost and what the weeks contain.
When an app is the wrong answer entirely
None of this applies if what you have is not insomnia. See a clinician rather than buying anything if you snore loudly, wake gasping, or have been told you stop breathing; if your legs feel restless in the evening; if you fall asleep during the day in situations where you would not expect to; or if this started suddenly or alongside a new medication.
Somnera is a self-guided education program built on CBT-I. It is not a diagnosis and does not replace care from your own clinician. The assessment is free and gives you a score whether or not you go any further.
Citations
Qaseem A, et al. Management of chronic insomnia disorder in adults: a clinical practice guideline from the American College of Physicians. Ann Intern Med. 2016;165(2):125–133. doi:10.7326/M15-2175
Edinger JD, et al. Behavioral and psychological treatments for chronic insomnia disorder in adults: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine clinical practice guideline. J Clin Sleep Med. 2021;17(2):255–262. doi:10.5664/jcsm.8986
Zachariae R, et al. Efficacy of internet-delivered cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep Med Rev. 2016;30:1–10. doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2015.10.004
